Experts urge govt support, investment to turn waste into wealth

Stakeholders in the waste management value chain have called for strong government backing, policy stability and investment to unlock the country’s waste-to-wealth potential at the ongoing Nigeria Circular Economy Week.

The Nigeria Circular Economy Week began on Monday and will end on Thursday at the Lagos Continental Hotel.

In a working group session covered by our correspondent on Tuesday, which brought together local operators, foreign investors, academics and development partners, discussions centred on building a viable business model for large-scale mixed waste processing in Nigeria.

Founder and Director of SweepSmart, a Dutch waste management firm, Mr Niels van den Hoek, said the session focused on understanding Nigeria’s waste ecosystem and exploring how to turn existing opportunities into a sustainable enterprise.

He revealed that his company was partnering with Nigerian government on advanced waste management.

“Today’s session was about getting to know the existing ecosystem of collectors, recyclers and potential buyers for recycled materials, and to see if we can turn all the opportunities into a viable business model.

“We believe we can only process and manage waste at scale once there is a viable business model,” he said.